Night Out
by reluctant-reporter
Summary: A night out with co-workers may change Casey and Jason's partnership.
1. Chapter 1

Casey wasn't sure what surprised her more, the fact that she and Nicole were practically giggling together in the girls' room at the station or the look of death Beaumont gave her when she walked into the rest room before disappearing into a stall. Nicole, of course, noticed the look and leaned in closer to Casey.

"What's up with her?" Nicole whispered.

"I have no idea," Casey said, her face showing her confusion.

Nicole shrugged and took out a tube of colored lip gloss, "So anyway, Eddie invited your partner, Delahoy and Banks out for beers."

"Really," Casey said, lifting her eyebrows and leaning against the sink next to Nicole. "Why?"

"I guess Eddie misses having a guys' night. I think it would be good for him. It also means I can have a girls' night out and I want you to go clubbing with me," Nicole grinned.

Casey laughed, "Nuh uh, I remember how crazy you used to get in high school when you partied. I'm a cop now and can't afford that kind of scandal."

"Hello, I work for the D.A.'s Office. Besides, Karen Moore was the crazy one. Come on! A few drinks, some dancing. I bet you haven't done that in a long time," Nicole said, giving a little pout into the mirror.

Casey sighed. Nicole was right. She and Davis had broken up a few weeks ago and it wasn't like they ever did anything like that anyway. Usually they would eat a quiet dinner at home or at a fancy restaurant and then spend the night at each other's places. Casey's quiet but still somewhat active social life had come to a screeching halt since she cut him loose.

"All right," she said.

"Yes!" Nicole bounced a little and beamed at her new friend.

"You interested in going too, Allison?" Nicole asked as Beaumont left her stall and washed her hands at the sink farthest away from where they were talking.

"Not in the least," she said, practically stomping her feet as she left the bathroom, not even bothering to dry her hands.

"Okay, what the heck was that all about?" Nicole asked, turning towards Casey.

"I don't know, she's been like that ever since she and Walsh broke up," Casey answered.

Nicole turned and carefully applied her lip gloss while she gave Casey a knowing look in the mirror.

"What?" Casey asked.

"Do you happen to know why they broke up?" Nicole asked, holding out her hand, offering Casey the lip gloss.

Casey shook her head at the lip gloss and the question, "No, Walsh doesn't freely talk about those kinds of things unless I pester him and then he gets annoyed when I give him advice about how he could have handled it better."

"Besides, he's 'not a girl so would you please shut up about talking about my feelings'," Casey said, lowering her voice so she could badly imitate her partner.

Nicole laughed, "Guys are so dumb. Did he at least tell you who broke up with who?"

"He broke up with her, I think. He seems to be going out of his way to be really nice to her when he can't avoid her and she's been kind of scary to everyone but Cole."

"And let me guess, she has been taking her bad mood out on you the most," Nicole said, turning again to face her friend.

"Actually, she's been the meanest to Walsh but I've been a close second in the hell hath no fury department. How'd you guess?"

"Honey, you're his partner. And since he hasn't been seeing anyone else, which I know since you didn't mention it, you're like the other woman to her," Nicole said.

"Well, that's stupid. She'll get over the break up after awhile and things will be normal again. You'll see," Casey said, trying to reassure not only Nicole but herself.

Nicole just smirked, "Sweetie, I think this disaster is only just beginning and normal? Since when has normal ever been the adjective to describe you lot."

"You should have a nice little chat with your partner about his break up and those scary feelings he doesn't like to share. I bet you're going to be in for a surprise, if he's honest with you," Nicole said, using her know-it-all tone and flipping her hair.

"What aren't you saying?" Casey asked, understanding that Nicole seemed to have caught something that she missed concerning her partner and his love life.

"Sorry, not going to tell you. But maybe tonight, after a few drinks and some dancing, I'll get a little chatty," Nicole said.

"Just don't get drunk and throw up on me."

"Shraeger, I need a favor," Delahoy said, rushing up to Casey's desk as she shrugged into her slightly wrinkled suit jacket which had been hanging on the back of her desk chair for most of the day.

"Really?" Casey asked, her eyebrows rose as she looked at her partner who was putting on his own jacket while standing behind his desk opposite of hers.

Walsh also had a confused look on his face and he shrugged his shoulders indicating he had no idea what Delahoy wanted.

"I heard that you were going out with Nicole tonight and I want you to invite Monica," he said.

She gaped at him. How did he know?

"Alvarez won't shut up about this dumb guys' night out and he said that Nicole was dragging you to some yuppie club to dance and get plowed on over priced, girly frou-frou drinks," he explained, anticipating her question.

"I don't know if you would call The Blaize a yuppie club and while our drinks will be over-priced, they sure as hell won't be frou-frou. Are you jealous that I might have fun while you boys will be grumbling in your beers in some tired old pub like a bunch of bored, retired geezers?"

"Like Alvarez is really going to be in charge of our night out. He's lucky we're letting him tag along. Anyway, please invite Monica," Delahoy begged.

Everyone knew about Dr. Monica Crumb and Delahoy's obsession with her. She had gotten fired for helping him a few months ago with his brain tumor and Delahoy had instantly explained the situation to her superiors and then told Brown about his condition. Soon after he went into surgery, remission and was now back on the job. His hair had been buzzed and was growing in stubbly and dark. Soon, he would be able to hide the ugly scar that crossed his scalp with a head full of thick hair. Dr. Crumb had been hired back but she was barely on speaking terms with Delahoy which was driving him up a wall.

"Why, what do you have planned?" Casey asked, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"Nothing, jeez are you paranoid," Delahoy said, lifting up his hands, palms forward in a 'what did I do' gesture.

"Then why are you so hot-to-trot about me inviting her to go with us tonight? I barely know her," Casey said.

Delahoy sighed, "All right. I was hoping maybe after a few drinks you could maybe chat her up and ask her about me. Maybe put in a good word or something. Find out what I should do to get her to forgive me."

"Sorry. It's against the Girl Code," Casey said, smiling.

"Right, like you would follow a Girl Code. I think you are required to wear heels and not be able to beat a man within an inch of his life armed with only a pencil and your wits to follow said code. So, you'll do it?" he asked, looking worried.

"All right, I'll ask. But she will probably say no. She knows we work together and she'll guess that you have something to do with this out-of-the-blue invitation," Casey warned.

"I gotta try. Thanks, Case," he said, walking away to bump fists with Banks who must have been in on the plan.

"You playing matchmaker now, '_Case'_?" Walsh asked, walking next to her as they prepared to leave for the morgue where they were due to look at a body while Casey would also attempt to convince Dr. Crumb to go out with her and Nicole later that evening.

"Hardly, you know she's going to say no," Casey said. "Shame, though. I could use her help to wrangle in Nicole when she starts gyrating on a table or something."

Walsh looked at her with that shit-eating grin of his, "You could always just join in, I mean, why fight it."

She snorted, "That would look good. If I let Nicole run loose, then tomorrow morning you'll be seeing a couple of very familiar faces in our holding cells. At least I wouldn't have to worry about making it to work on time."

"She's really that bad?"

"You think anyone normal would ever marry Eddie Alvarez?"


	2. Chapter 2

Surprisingly, Dr. Crumb accepted Casey's clumsy invitation to a girls' only night out of dancing and drinking. Casey could tell that Crumb knew that Delahoy had a hand in the invite and she was pretty sure that Crumb liked him just as much as he liked her since she was willing to play along. She also had a feeling that, like her, Monica Crumb had few female friends. On her way back to the bullpen, Banks asked if his girlfriend, Bridget, could join them at The Blaize as well since she had been bugging him about taking her to the popular night spot for weeks. Casey agreed and knew Nicole would be thrilled with a larger group to participate in the now not-so-dreaded female bonding event.

"You are not wearing that!" Nicole greeted Casey as she opened her apartment door to let in the sleekly dressed lawyer.

"Why not?" Casey asked, looking down at the black wide leg dress pants and tight, red, quarter length sleeved shirt she was wearing.

"Because, it looks too much like something you would wear to work or brunch. I have to be demure because I'm married, but you're single. Sex it up!"

"Sex it up?" Casey repeated.

Nicole sighed and opened a large purse that Casey hadn't yet registered she brought in with her and started dumping things out onto the couch.

"It's a good thing I anticipated this and came prepared. Try this baby on," Nicole said, flourishing a sparkly silver dress that was too short and low cut for Casey's piece of mind.

"No way, I'd look like a Vegas act," Casey protested.

"Put it on!" Nicole said, shoving the dress into Casey's arms and pointing her to the back of her apartment where she assumed the bathroom was.

"Alright, but if you pull out a pair of hooker heels, this dress goes out the window and I'm going to rock a parka tonight," Casey said, retreating from the woman who was pulling things out of her bag, Mary Poppins style.

"You got anything in there that would flatter a flat-chested, coroner?" Crumb asked.

Casey couldn't help but grin when Nicole whipped out a pair of cutlets that could be stuffed into a bra.

"Oh, and I think the blue would do wonders in making a certain detective with a mustache only Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck would love, crazy," Nicole said, handing her something short, and silky which Crumb snatched up without complaint.

"Awesome and everyone loves moustaches. Reminds me of Magnum P.I."

"I hate it when she's right," Delahoy said before taking a final, long pull from the bottle a beer he had been nursing all night.

"Huh," Banks asked from the bar stool beside him.

"Shraeger. She said that we would be lame and boring, just sitting in some bar while they partied in that swanky club," Delahoy said.

Jason shook his head in agreement and asked, "You actually want to go to The Blaize?"

"Hell no, I don't dance unless I know for sure I'm going to get some at the end of the evening and Monica is not going to give me any supply room action in the foreseeable future," Delahoy said.

"Man, you should have seen what Bridget was wearing when I dropped her off in front of the club. Tight pants and a tube top. I can't believe I'm sitting here with you guys when I could be staring at that," Banks said.

"Did you see Monica? Did she look hot? She better not pick up some guy there," Delahoy said, his tone rising in slight panic.

Banks grinned, "Sorry man, but she was wearing this insane, little blue dress that didn't leave much to the imagination."

"Damn it!"

Banks laughed, "I almost swallowed my tongue when I saw Shraeger. She had on this sparkly dress that was way better then the hooker outfit she wore on her first day. The thing was low cut, backless and short. Someone's on the prowl."

Walsh couldn't help but perk up when he heard his partner's name mentioned. All he could picture was the dark little skin tight dress Casey wore when they first met and how she practically spilled out of it. Brown had later told him that she had made a lousy hooker and Walsh had replied that she didn't look rode hard and put away wet like all the other women on the street did which made her stand out. What he didn't say was that she looked too good, like an expensive porcelain doll in the middle of a flea market and people didn't always know how to react to that. Johns wanted her but didn't want to spoil her beauty or worse, find out that the beauty was just an illusion and be disappointed once it was gone. They wanted dirty and quick and that wasn't Casey.

"Oh, sorry man," Banks said and Walsh belatedly realized that he had been glaring at his co-worker.

"What?"

"I didn't mean anything about what I said about Shraeger. I just meant that all our girls looked good," Banks said.

"Our girls?" Walsh repeated.

"Come on, Walsh. Everyone but Casey knows that you got a thing for her and that was why you and Beaumont broke up," Delahoy sighed.

"Even I knew that," Alvarez said, taking his seat next to Walsh after coming out of the men's room.

"Guys, I don't know what you're talking about. Casey is my partner, that's it," Walsh said.

"Right. You're telling me that if she ever got a clue and jumped you, or did something equally naughty, you wouldn't be thrilled," Delahoy said, his voice laced with doubt.

Jason sighed, "Does everyone really know?"

"Sorry, but the way you and Beaumont were fighting, it was kind of hard not to hear some of it. You might as well have hung fliers. Shraeger seems to have remained clueless but knowing my wife, it won't be for long," Alvarez said.

"Fan-freaking-tastic. Just when I got her to stop with the girly talks about feelings," Walsh said, rubbing his face with his hand.

"It could be worse. She could not want to talk to you at all and then you'd be like me. I would love to talk about my feelings with Monica at this point, hell, I would love to just talk to her without her fleeing the room like there's a fire or a bee about to attack her," Delahoy sighed.

"That club was amazing!" Bridget gushed, her head resting on Nicole's shoulder.

Casey nodded in agreement which only made her surroundings spin even more. All four women were sitting, drunk, on a bus bench and Casey wondered what would happen if the bus came. Would they have to get on it? Where would it go?

She must have voiced those questions out loud because Monica answered her.

"It's too late for the buses. I wish it could drop me off right in front of my apartment, though. I'm too wasted to walk far."

Everyone agreed with her and she snuggled her head against Casey's arm. Amazingly, Nicole seemed to be the least drunk and they were all leaning against her in order to remain somewhat stable. Casey stared at her lap to make sure her dress hadn't ridden up causing her to flash her goods to the passing traffic and sighed, wondering how they were going to get home. Just when the idea of a cab flashed into her head, Nicole's pants started to ring.

"Hey baby, you having a great time? Uh, huh. Oh. That's too bad. We had a great time. Girls' Night Out was a hit! Uh huh. Oh, nothing now. We're sitting on a bench near the club and everyone else is too wasted to get themselves home. I'm getting ready to call a cab and after I pour them all in, I was going to make sure they all got tucked into their beds safely. You are? Great! See you soon, Sweetie. Bye."

"That Eddie?" Casey asked, wincing as she heard herself slur a little.

"Yes. He and the guys aren't too far from here and he said that they would help us get home, that way I'm not spending all night dragging you guys all over the city," Nicole said, grinning at her posse.

"Eric's coming?" Monica asked, her head sliding down Casey's arm and landing on her lap as she curled up on the bench.

Casey smiled at Crumb, patted her arm and smoothed her hair, as though she were a child.

"Yup. Casey, make sure she's not flashing her undies. Delahoy would freak if anyone but him saw them," Nicole said as Casey tugged the hem of her friend's dress down.

"Next time we all wear pants. If that Ass Hat had tried to stick his hand up my skirt one more time, I was going to shove the tooth pick from my martini olive right into his eye socket. And who dances like that? If I wanted to dry hump, I would have gone into the closet with Kevin McManess for seven minutes when we were freshman instead of sneaking out the bathroom window and running for my life," Casey grumbled as Nicole laughed, clearly remembering that party.

"Was Ass Hat his first or last name?" a male voice asked in front of them.

"Leo!" Bridget yelled, launching herself at her boyfriend, almost knocking him off the curb and into traffic.

"Hey Bridge. Ladies," Banks said, smirking at them.

"Hi guys. Sorry you didn't have much fun and ignore Casey. She was having a great time, shaking it like there was no tomorrow until the tequila hit her. Jose seems to bring out her negativity," Nicole said, holding out her hand for Alvarez to take.

He did and tugged her up so that she was standing, making Casey almost fall sideways on the bench seat so that she would have been laying on it like Monica. She felt a strong, warm hand brace her upper arm and hold her up. Looking up, she stared into Walsh's blue eyes which were almost as bright as the smile he was giving her.

"Hi, Walsh," she said, giving him a big, dopey smile.

"Casey. Is Crumb all right?" he asked.

Monica chose that moment to let out a light snore and Casey smiled at him while she stroked the coroner's hair absently, "She's just sleepy."

"Well, I better get Sleeping Beauty home then," Delahoy said as he grinned at the sight of Monica curled up and using Casey as a pillow.

Casey nodded, knowing that Monica really liked Delahoy since he was all she talked about all night long.

"She likes your mustache," she said, nodding at him as she made her serious statement. "She disagreed with me when I said it made you look like a '70s porn star."

"Oh, um, good," Delahoy said, bending down to scoop Monica up bridal style.

Monica curled up against him, laying her face against his neck and wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

"Jason, you taking Casey home?" Nicole asked, her tone betraying another way that statement could have been taken which made him realize that everyone did know about his secret except for Casey.

"You bet. Come on Dancing Queen," he said, grabbing her other arm and pulling her up into a standing position, thankful that she only swayed a bit.

After everyone paired up, they all went their separate ways. Walsh took off his jacket and put it around Casey's shoulders to not only keep himself from staring but other guys that passed them on the sidewalk from gawking at the dress as well. Banks had been right, Casey looked hot.

"So, aside from Mr. Ass Hat, did you have a good time tonight?" Walsh asked her as they started to walk.

She nodded and stumbled a bit, giving Walsh the excuse the put his arm around her waist and pull her closer to him so she wouldn't fall.

"It was so fun. We danced and we drank. And we danced," Casey said, putting her own arm around his waist so she could use him to help balance herself. "What did you guys do?"

"Just what you said we would do. We hung out in a lame bar and complained like a bunch of old ladies. It was fun watching Delahoy pine for his lady love, though," Walsh said, grinning at her.

Casey leaned closer to him as though she were telling a secret and since they were about the same height; Walsh couldn't help but notice how close her lips were to his.

"I don't think he'll be pining for long. Monica's got a thing for the 'stache," she said.

"Alejandro," Walsh said, watching in fascination as his breath moved a small piece of hair away from her face.

Casey looked at him in confusion.

"Delahoy named his mustache Alejandro this week," Jason explained, moving away from her a little but keeping a firm grip around her waist.

"Why does he change the name all the time?" Casey asked.

"He says every time he trims it, it looks different. This week it looks like an Alejandro. Next week, it could be Tony."

"I guess we shouldn't worry unless he starts giving it female names like Susie or Cheryl," Casey said, laughing.

"Or if he starts naming it after on of us," Jason replied.


	3. Chapter 3

_Maybe that last tequila shot had not been the best idea_, Casey thought as she struggled to take quick even steps to match her partner's no nonsense stride. She had never had a problem keeping up with him before. Unfortunately, there seemed to be some miscommunication between her brain and her feet which caused her to lean heavily against Walsh who might as well have been carrying her. Not that she minded. She just didn't want him to think that she was a pain in the ass.

Having Walsh's respect and friendship was extremely important to Casey. Considering his negative reaction to her when they first met and were partnered up, Walsh had come around fairly quick to become not only a good and loyal partner, but her best friend and mentor as well. Whenever she screwed up, like with the guy who faked his own kidnapping when they had that awful protection detail, he was right there beside her to help her fix it. He didn't take over, either, but gently guided her and assisted however he could while she fixed her own mistakes.

_Oh, and he smelled really good._

That was something she noticed after sitting in a vehicle with Walsh for long periods of time during their shifts. He had a light, clean smell with a faint undercurrent of French fries. It had to be a mixture of his soap, laundry detergent and grease from the fryers at the diner, especially on the days when he was open to customers. At the moment, Casey was fighting the urge to lay her face against his neck and just breathe him in. Apparently, tequila made her a little slutty, funny, it never used to.

It took her a minute to realize that they had stopped and it wasn't because they had arrived at her apartment. They were standing in front of Walsh's diner.

"This is your place," Casey said, scrunching her nose and turning her head to look at him.

"It's good to see that alcohol has not affected your deduction skills, Inspector Casey," Walsh said, his cheek brushing against hers.

Casey jerked her head away when she realized that she was dangerously close to just sagging against him and going to sleep. It wasn't like she didn't feel safe enough with him to do just that, but she still had enough control over her facilities to know that she would be extremely embarrassed later and did not want to hear his taunts about her inability to hold her liquor the next day. Even if he did smell like fresh laundry and French fries, and was warm and toasty at her side, she refused to just melt against him. Well, her brain refused but her body seemed to have its own ideas since it wouldn't detach itself from him.

"But you were supposed to take me home," she said, a bit petulant.

"And I did, to my home, not yours."

"Why? Did you leave one of your freaky science experiments in the oven? A pie made out of spaghetti and M&M's or something?"

Walsh rolled his eyes but smiled as his partner made a grossed out face similar to one a little kid made when they were told that they had to eat all of their veggies.

"Hmmm, M&M's and spaghetti. Interesting concept, but no, there's nothing in the oven I'm afraid," Walsh said, rubbing his jaw with the hand that was not holding Casey up as he pretended to think about the merits of the disgusting combination.

"Why? You hungry?" he asked.

"Ugh, no. Not in the least."

"To answer your question from earlier, my place is much closer than yours and you aren't really in a condition to walk anymore. I've pretty much been dragging you the last few blocks and I'm getting tired," he said. "It's not like you haven't crashed here before."

"I'm not sleeping on the counter again," Casey protested loudly. " I need a bed or a mattress. Do you have a couch? I forgot. Or a sleeping bag?"

"Relax, Case. You can take my bed, I'll take the floor. You also have a change of clothes here, remember, so we won't have to worry about you being late to work," Walsh said, guiding her to the glass door and pulling out some keys from his pocket to unlock it.

Oh, she definitely remembered. It had happened a few weeks ago. Casey had chased down a guy who had stolen a bunch of hotdogs from a vendor near where she and Walsh had gone to interview a witness over a double homicide that had occurred earlier that day. Since they were right there, a block away, they took the call and somehow Casey had managed to outrun Walsh and collared the guy before he could get to him. Unfortunately, the perp had somehow managed to scarf down about half of the two dozen hot dogs he had made off with and ended up barfing on her. It made her queasy just thinking about the way the vomit had flown from his mouth all over the front of her shirt, like the projectile puke they showed in movies.

The only spare clothes she had were in her locker at the station and there wasn't enough time to go back for them. Luckily, Walsh had a spare undershirt he gave her that he kept in the car and she was able to clean herself up and change while Walsh handed Puke Face over to a uniform who had arrived. She was also lucky that she had left her jacket in the car during the chase because she had to put it on and button it up to cover the fact that Walsh's shirt was white, thin and practically see through, showing off the red, push up bra she had been wearing. Ever since then, she tucked a spare set of clothes everywhere she could think of, including her desk, the car and Walsh's place.

Walsh also had spare clothing all over, even at her apartment since he sometimes came over to watch T.V. and eat take-out with her, especially after he broke up with Beaumont. Surprisingly, he had kept the story about Puke Face to himself although he did love to crack jokes at her expense when it was just the two of them, like calling her Barfy Boobs or Red Hot (in honor of the bra).

Walsh helped her through the door and sat her on a stool while he turned on the lights and reset the alarm. Casey stayed upright for about two whole seconds before slumping against the counter.

"I thought you didn't want to sleep on the counter," Walsh said, putting his arm around her waist again and hauling her to her feet.

"Shut up and take me to bed."


	4. Chapter 4

_Shut up and take me to bed._

Jason almost dropped Casey the second his brain processed the words that had popped out of her mouth. It was like she had thrown a grenade at him and all he could do was stand stupidly as it exploded, hitting him with dirt and debris. She let out a little squeak when she felt his grip loosen and her body started to slide towards the floor. Quickly, Jason re-tightened his hands and arms, making sure that she was upright and stable again. He took a deep breath and ordered himself to get some control over his downstairs brain.

_Dude, she did not mean it like that. Don't be an ass and ruin things. She's drunk and she needs to be taken care of, not taken advantage of._

It didn't take long for his internal pep talk to sink in and he carefully walked Casey through the front part of the diner and into the back. They maneuvered their way through the back room before reaching his place and he unlocked the door to his apartment, switching the lights on as he guided her inside. She let go of him and almost fell over a pile of dirty clothes he had left on the floor as she tried to make her way to his bed. She caught herself before he could reach out to try and catch her and slowly teetered her way to the mattress where she plopped herself down.

"Sorry," he said, kicking the clothes he had left in the middle of the room towards the wall, "I wasn't expecting company."

"You living like a pig isn't exactly news to me," Casey said with a tired smile. "I've been here before, you know."

Jason nodded. True, she had been here before but at the time, he hadn't really cared about what she thought of his messy apartment. When he and Beaumont had gotten together, it was unexpected. They had been friends and flirted a lot prior to their first hook up but he hadn't thought anything would come of it. She was the type of woman who hated to be seen as vulnerable, especially by her colleges at the station, and sex with a man whose intentions were unclear was putting herself in a very vulnerable position. Yet, she had taken that chance and it had worked out between them for awhile but not anymore. He did not need to try and make a good impression on Beaumont because she already knew him and that seemed to set the tone for their relationship. He cared about her but after awhile something inside him shifted. Instead of thinking about sex with Allison throughout the day, he would think about Casey instead. He would wonder what she did when she wasn't at work and not with him. He would think about why she would go for a guy like Davis and yet barely bat an eye at him. He was an attractive and charming guy but for the most part she would treat him like her best buddy or an annoying older brother. She even gave him love advice, for Christ sake. That was like a punch in the gut. No woman who was interested in a guy the way he wanted her to be in him would dole out love advice.

He watched his partner as she slipped out of his coat and it pooled around her backside where she sat on the bed. Her cleavage was subtle but it was there and looking at it made a slight sweat break out on his forehead. He'd had the same reaction when he saw the red bra she was wearing after the guy who had stolen the hot dogs got sick all over her a few weeks ago. He was the one who had pointed out that he could see through the shirt he'd loaned her and she had turned slightly red and muttered a string of curse words that questioned not only his masculinity but his mother's virtue as well. She'd dashed to their car and had wrapped herself up in the jacket she had left on her seat but the image of the red bra was forever seared into his brain, along with the images of her wearing the hooker dress and now her in this wonderful creation made out of beads and silver fabric. He had caught a glimpse of her naked back earlier which had prompted him to cover her with his jacket. He knew it was stupid, a club full of guys had seen that smooth back, but while he was in her presence he didn't want anyone else to see what he wanted but couldn't have.

"You got anything for me to sleep in," she asked, yawning and looking up at him through tired and heavy dark eyes.

"Sure, all my sexy negligee and granny nightgowns are in the wash but I think I could dig up a t-shirt and some shorts," he said, going to his closet.

It didn't take him long to locate a black t-shirt that was well worn and a bit too small for him to wear anymore. He was horrible with laundry, always shrinking things or getting bleach stains on stuff when he didn't even use bleach anywhere near his clothing or laundry. He also dug up a pair of athletic shorts with a drawstring that she should be able to tie to fit her waist.

"Thanks," she said as she disappeared into his bathroom.

A few minutes later he felt his heart pound and his flop sweat return when he heard the shower turn on. She was going to be the death of him.

Casey closed her eyes as she enjoyed the utter bliss the hot water pouring from the shower gave her as it seemed to melt away some of her fuzziness and exhaustion. She groaned as she replayed the words she had spoken earlier.

_Shut up and take me to bed._

Why had she said that? Sure, at the time she had meant for him to be quiet and to let her go to bed so she could sleep because she was drunk and tired. However, after a minute of his shocked silence and him almost dropping her as he helped her off the stool; it had occurred to her that the sentence had a whole other context. Now, things between her and Walsh were kind of tense and slightly uncomfortable.

She blamed Nicole. All night her friend had been making comments about her and Walsh being more than just partners and how Walsh had a thing for her and that was why he broken up with Beaumont. She knew that wasn't true. He had never seen her or treated her as anything but a good friend and partner, never showed any interest in her that way. To him, she was just another one of the guys but Nicole's comments now had her thinking that maybe she didn't want him to think of her that way anymore. Maybe she wanted something else.

As she turned under the spray, careful not to get any of the long hair that she had twisted into a knot on the top of her head wet, she thought about how she could get him to think of her as more then just his partner. When it came to men and relationships, she was a straight shooter. She did not do coy or play those little games of seduction most other women seemed to inherently know. Maybe that was why Davis had complained about her being "the man" in their relationship. When she had told Walsh about that particular complaint against her, he's stated that it was to be expected. She was a cop and used to taking charge, but really she had always been like that.

So the question was how could she make Jason Walsh see her as more than his partner? How did she make him see her as not only a woman but a desirable one? How could she make him want her?

Sighing, she turned her face up towards the water to try and wash her makeup off. Maybe she could call Nicole tomorrow for some sort of Dummies Guide to seduction. The woman did read way too much Cosmo. Maybe she could finally get some use out of her friend's constant spouting of useless knowledge over the opposite sex. Casey leaned her head against the tile wall next to the spray and stared despondently at the shower curtain, she was going to need all the help she could get.


	5. Chapter 5

Thanks for all the reviews and encouragement! You guys are the best and I'm glad I'm not the only person who thinks that Casey and Jason would have made a great couple if given the chance. Updates might be fewer and far between until after Christmas. I'm holding down two jobs and have zero free time to write but hopefully that will change after the holidays. Again, thanks for the love and Sister Christian by Night Ranger is not owned by me or Casey-------

Jason smirked as he searched his disaster of a closet for an old blue sleeping bag he had stuffed in there awhile back. Apparently, Casey liked to hum in the shower. He couldn't quite make out what the tune was, but she had a decent voice. Every now and then she would sing out a few words which allowed him to figure out that the song was "Sister Christian" by Night Ranger. The girl apparently loved '80s power ballades.

Still smiling, he tried to put his mind on the task at hand, finding that damn sleeping bag so he could have a place to sleep. He had started the search as a way to keep his mind off the fact that his beautiful partner was in his shower, naked. Naked and wet. Naked, wet and quite possibly soapy. He felt a shiver go up his spine as he pictured what that might look like, what she looked like. Needless to say, his hunt was not very successful. No sleeping bag and his body was starting to respond like a randy teenager so it had failed to distract him.

The shower turned off just as his hand found the sleek material of a rolled up sleeping bag and he tried not to think of her toweling dry as he hauled it out of the closet, or out of the junkyard as Casey liked to call it. He sighed as he unrolled it onto the floor next to his bed. This was really getting to be too much. He knew he would have to tell Casey that he was attracted to her and had feelings for her soon. Otherwise, someone else would and he winced when the thought of Beaumont doing the honors entered his mind. She was pissed off enough at him that if she thought it would ruin his current friendship and partnership with Casey she might do it. She didn't care that Casey was an innocent bystander. She would destroy them both if she could. It was his fault, really. He should've been honest with her and broken things off way before he actually did. Honestly, he thought the feelings he started to have for Casey would taper off, especially since she was with Davis, but they didn't. Soon, he was ditching Allison to hang out with his partner after hours and losing interest in anything that wasn't job related or Casey related. Then the fighting started, during which he did the standard asshole guy maneuver, accusing her of something before she could accuse him. Unfortunately, Allison was smart enough to realize what was going on and things between them ended. Now she hated both him and Casey.

The door to the bathroom opened and Jason couldn't help but turn and look as Casey walked out, shutting off the light as she went. He was glad he was still kneeling on the floor, straightening out the sleeping bag, or he might have fallen over. She looked perfect, fresh and clean, wearing his clothes. They were a little baggy, but he could still make out her curves and better yet, the shorts showed off her legs as well as the dress had. He sucked in some air, the words 'you look beautiful' about to pop out, but he stopped himself. He would wait until the morning to have that talk with her, when she was sober.

"Bathroom's yours," she said, walking to the bed in a fairly straight line and sitting on it.

"Thanks, you're looking a little less out of it," he commented, standing up.

"I'm exhausted and still kind of buzzed, but I am feeling much better. You know, I could take the sleeping bag, this is your place after all," Casey said, looking up at him.

He gave her a _don't be stupid_ look and leaned over the bed, reaching behind her to grab a pillow.

"I'm just saying, once I pass out, I'm out. It won't really matter where I sleep," she said.

Jason dropped the pillow on the floor above the sleeping bad and rolled his eyes, "You're probably going to feel like hell in the morning as it is, you really want to add neck and back pain to that?"

"No, but it isn't fair that you should suffer neck and back pains just so I can be more comfortable."

"I don't get neck and back pains. I can sleep anywhere, remember. If I can nap in a metal folding chair, I can handle the floor. You're the one with a delicate constitution around here," he said.

Casey picked up a pillow and half-heartedly tossed it at him. He easily caught it and lobbed it back so that is missed her head and landed behind her, almost exactly where she grabbed it from.

"None of that now. This isn't a slumber party so there will be no pillow fights, no truth or dare, no scary stories and no freezing anyone's underwear," he said, wagging a finger at her. "I have to use that freezer for business purposes and the health department frowns on storing undergarments there."

She mock saluted him and fell back onto his bed, head on one of his pillows and her bare legs still above the covers.

"Jason?"

Jason had moved to get a t-shirt and pants for himself to sleep in when the shock of hearing his name from Casey's mouth stopped him cold. She never called him by his first name and it surprised him that she did now. He couldn't help but like it. He turned so that he could see her.

"Yes?"

"In case I forget to say it later, thank you. I won't forget this and if you ever need me to, I will return the favor," she said as she seriously addressed his ceiling, eyes blinking slowly as she struggled to keep them open.

"I know you will and believe me, it's amusing imaging you trying to haul my drunken ass out of some bar," he said, laughing.

She laughed with him him, "Maybe Alvarez would help me, he's got the serious man crush on you and what is it that they say? Bros before hoes?"

Jason shuddered, "Don't remind me, and promise me you'll never leave me alone in a room with that guy."

She laughed again and he couldn't help but notice that it was lower and throatier sounding then her regular laugh which sent another shiver up his spine.

"For Nicole's sake, I promise. I can't have a home wrecker for a partner, now, can I?"

"Thanks, Shraeger. That means a lot to me."

She murmured what sounded like "your welcome" and he quickly grabbed something to sleep in and headed to the bathroom. While he changed and brushed his teeth, he worried over what he would tell her tomorrow. Normally he wasn't like that. He was usually fearless when it came to beginning a relationship but maybe that was why it never worked out. When he started to really care about someone, it scared the shit out of him and one way or another, the relationship would end soon after. Casey was too important for him to blow it but he knew hiding from his feelings would only make things worse, anyway. Who knows, maybe she liked him back but didn't want to ruin things between them either.

Casey was already dead to the world once he left the bathroom. He couldn't help but stand over her, feeling like some lovesick puppy. She really was beautiful, even though her legs were covered up by his comforter. Her long dark hair was fanned out across the pillow and he lightly ran his fingers through a few strands at her forehead, careful to not wake her but enjoying the softness. That was another thing he liked about her. She was so soft and feminine looking but at the same time she could throw him flat onto his back if she really tried. They practiced their sparring techniques in the gym at the station and she knew what she was doing so he really wasn't worried so much about protecting her like he had been at the beginning of their partnership. He still was protective and covered her back, but he wasn't as worried about her safety.

His hand seemed to have a mind of its own because he could only watch as his index finger lightly ran down her cheek and gently rubbed against her full bottom lip. It was soft and plump and he couldn't help but wonder what kissing her would be like. Would it be a gentle kind of kiss or intensely passionate? He hoped he would be able to find out someday soon.

"Night, Case," he whispered as he quietly backed away and sat on the floor so he could shimmy his way into the sleeping bag.

He missed the smile that stretched across her face as her eyes blinked open and then shut again.


	6. Chapter 6

Sorry about the wait, my schedule has cleared up so hopefully I can update more often. Again, thanks for the reviews and the love, it's appreciated.---

Casey jerked awake as the sound of an unfamiliar digital alarm clock shrieked into her ear and scared the living hell out of her. The only thing worse then the noise was the fact that her abrupt response to the alarm meant that she sat up too quickly which made her stomach churn violently and she only had a couple of seconds to figure out where the hell she was and where she could find a freaking toilet, fast. She saw Walsh stretched out on the floor next to the bed and made the connection that she was at the diner and the bathroom was not far from where she was laying, _thank you Jesus!_

Not bothering to turn off the alarm, she lurched out of bed, almost tripping as the sheet and comforter tried to come with her and tangled themselves between her legs, and practically sprinted the few steps to the bathroom. She slammed the door shut, lifted the lid of the toilet and assumed the position. She was thankful that Walsh was more into collecting clutter then being a disgusting slob and kept his bathroom pretty clean with the exception of a couple of dirty towels on the floor, one of which was hers from the night before. Knowing she would feel a little better after throwing up, she let the urge to vomit take over and started retching.

Jason woke to the sound of his alarm clock above his head going off and the bang of a door slamming closely followed by sounds of puking. He rubbed his hands against his face and through his short hair and prayed that Casey had found the bathroom and was not outside his apartment door puking in the hallway that ran between his living space and the diner. He gingerly opened his eyes and was relieved to see that door to the bathroom was closed and that the puking noises were being somewhat muffled by that same door. Jason reached up and shut off the alarm which sat on his bedside table, remembering that he forgot to reset it and that it was way too early for them to get up. Luckily, they only had to work a half day and didn't have to be in until the afternoon. He figured he could keep Casey at her desk with paper work for most of the day and if they had to go out on any calls, he would take over and drag her along to get her through the rest of their shift. He sat up and reset the alarm before lying back down.

"Pain killers are in the medicine cabinet," he yelled, knowing she would be able to hear him since he could hear her through the door. "You need anything?"

"No!" she grunted as she breathed heavily over the toilet bowl and wiped at the hot tears that always leaked when she threw up.

"There's an extra tooth brush under the sink," he yelled once he heard the vomiting end.

"Thanks," she said, leaning back against the ancient bathtub as she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. She made a mental note to wash her hands as soon as she was able to get up.

As she brushed her teeth she felt slightly embarrassed that Walsh could hear her puking in his bathroom. Not only that but she had taken over his bed, slept in his clothes and needed his assistance getting home, although not to her home. She felt like one of those dumb drunk girls she always made fun of in high school. She was lucky that Walsh was her friend and took care of her and didn't take advantage of the situation, not that he even thought of her that way. Yet that wasn't quit right because she could have sworn that right before she drifted off, she felt Walsh touch her face and her mouth. It had to have been a dream, right? But if it was a dream, then how could she still remember it after trying to sleep off all that alcohol?

She glared at her reflection in the mirror which was pale, bleary eyed and had some serious bed head, and promised herself that when she felt better she would hunt down Nicole and get her assistance with "Operation Jump Jason". She then frowned at her reflection. First order of business would be to rename the operation. She was too hung over to be witty at the moment.

Since he had reset the alarm, Jason turned on the his side trying to get comfortable enough to go back to sleep but found that despite his earlier boast, his back and neck did hurt. Napping in uncomfortable places was one thing but trying to get a good night's sleep on a floor was next to impossible. Without thinking about it, he rolled himself out of the sleeping bag and slid into his bed, sighing as his back hit the soft yet firm mattress. He stuck out his arm and scooped up the pillow he had been using while sleeping on the floor and tucked it under his head.

"Hey," Jason greeted Casey as she opened the bathroom door and walked out. "How you feeling there, Champ?"

"Remind me never to drink tequila again. It was much better going down then coming back up," Casey said, looking like shit which Jason thought was adorable.

God, he was pathetic.

"Sorry about the alarm, I forgot to reset it last night. We got a few more hours to sleep if you want," he said, closing his eyes.

She shrugged and dropped into bed beside him. While he hadn't exactly planned on sharing the bed with Casey when he brought her to his diner last night, he wasn't about to go back to laying on that cold, hard floor when he could be in his nice, soft bed with his current love interest laying next to him. Sure, she was hung over, had that grumpy, little girl look on her face and had no idea that she was his love interest, but her breath smelled like mint from his toothpaste and he could feel the heat coming from her body which was still warm from being cocooned in his bed. He felt like an insect being drawn in by a bug zapper but he didn't care. It didn't matter who was the predator and who was the prey in this scenario, she was in his lair, in his bed and he was going to enjoy it before all hell broke loose, which tended to happen a lot in his life.

"Sounds good. I feel like death," she said, snuggling underneath the covers and turning so that she was facing him.

Jason continued to lie on his back and listened as Casey's breathing grew deeper and steadier. When it sounded like she was asleep, he turned his head to look at her, surprised to see her staring right back at him.

"Gotcha," she said, smiling slowly.

He grinned back and rolled his eyes, "Aren't you tired?"

"Yes, but I keep thinking about this dream I had," she said, wiggling a little to get more comfortable which also brought her a bit closer to him.

"If you had a sex dream about Alvarez, please keep it to yourself. I have nightmares about him already and don't need any additional trauma," he said, turning so that he was facing her.

"No, actually it was about you."


	7. Chapter 7

"Me?" Jason asked, eyes widening in either surprise or panic.

Casey slowly nodded and shifted her body again so that it was even closer to his while staring at him like he was someone she was interrogating and trying to figure out before she knew all the facts to a case. She was not fully aware that she was giving him her "cop look" but after working closely with her so long, Jason recognized that look and knew he was busted.

"You had a sex dream about me?" Jason asked after a minute of silence, his expression quickly changing to disbelief.

"No, you perv," Casey said, huffing in annoyance, "there was no sex but you did do this."

Jason watched, almost hypnotized, as she reached over and stroked the spiky, messy light brown hair above his forehead and then glided her fingers down the side of his face before stopping at his mouth. Her index finger then rubbed his bottom lip in an almost perfect imitation of his actions from the night before. Casey pulled her hand back and curled it under her chin, expectantly waiting for his reply.

"From your lack of response I either shocked you speechless or it wasn't a dream at all," Casey said.

"Sorry, I thought you were asleep," Jason said, shrugging as though it was no big deal but his eyes were wide and bright, like a trapped wild animal.

"I almost was," Casey said. "So was that just curiosity over what my hair, face and mouth felt like or was it something else? Did the devil make you do it?"

Jason cracked a smile at his partner's attempt to lighten the mood and sighed heavily. He knew he was acting like a wuss but the very real prospect of losing his partner and friend weighed heavily on him. Oh, what the hell. No one ever accused him of being very smart anyway.

"No, none of those, Casey," he said. "It was more like an impulse I couldn't control."

"Impulse, huh?" Casey said, smiling at him a little. "Sounds a little dirty."

Jason squinted at her as her smile grew even bigger, "Are you teasing me?"

"Just a little."

He sighed, "I'm guessing Nicole finally let the cat out of the bag."

"Pretty much, but I still want to hear you say it," Casey said, giving him a little laugh, "don't want to get any signals crossed."

Growling, Jason lightly pushed her arm so that she turned onto her back and maneuvered himself so that he was over her, his weight supported by his arms and legs, not quite touching her.

"You enjoying this?" he asked, unable to keep a small smile off his face.

She nodded and reached up to stroke the other side of his face she had yet to touch, "Say it."

"Fine. Casey I like you as more than a partner and friend and I was hoping that maybe you thought of me as more than a partner as well. That maybe we could, uh, go out on a date? Or something."

"You are one hell of a smooth talker," she said, sliding her arms over his shoulders and folding them around his neck, "I find myself unable to resist you."

"Few can," Jason replied before Casey pulled his head down and kissed him.

The kiss was different then either had expected. It started out slow and experimental but quickly became intense and sexual. Jason groaned at one point when Casey lightly bit his bottom lip and then swept her tongue in his mouth when he opened it in surprise. He lowered his body onto hers and tangled his hands into her hair as he worked to gain control over the kiss, his tongue battling hers before he broke away from her mouth and went to lick and nibble on her neck, causing her to groan this time.

"Jason," she gasped. "Jason!"

He lifted his face once her calling his name finally sunk in and looked at her, pleased to see that some color had returned to her cheeks and her eyes were a bit brighter then before.

"As much as I would love to continue this, I still kind of feel kind of nauseous," she warned.

He nodded and quickly rolled off her to lie close to her side, wrapping his arms around her waist as she rolled over so that they were face to face before she tucked her head underneath his chin, her face against his chest and legs tangled up with his.

"We'll continue this later," he promised.

----That's all for now, folks. Thanks for everyone who read this and commented, especially those who wrote multiple comments. You really encouraged me to finish this and I hope it was to your liking. I have a couple other story ideas for Jason/Casey and possibly a Crumb/Delahoy story in the near future. This was the first story I ever posted and finished so to celebrate, I'm going to Disneyland! (Complete lie, Heroes is coming on later and I'm going to watch it and maybe eat some pizza.)


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